Apparatus for moving houses



(No Model.) v F.-B. DUPFEY.

APPARATUS FORMQVING- HOUSES.

No. 387,630. Patented Aug. 14, 1888.

NITED STATES MEN-r rider.

FRANK B. DUFFEY, OF MOUND VALLEY, KANSAS.

APPARATUS FOR MOVlNG HOUSES.

@PECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 387,630, dated August 14, 1888.

Application filed April 4, 1888.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK. B. DUFFEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Mound Valley, in the county of Labette and State of Kansas, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Apparatus for Moving Houses,of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to an improvement in apparatus for moving houses out of the reach of fire; and it consists in the peculiar construction and combination of devices, that will be more fully set forth hereinafter, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

The object of my invention is to provide anapparatus whereby a house may be moved from the vicinity of another which is on fire, and thereby prevent the conflagration from spreading, and this object I accomplish by the means illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is an elevation of a house mounted on an apparatus embodying my improvement. Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional View taken on the line 31g of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a detail plan view.

A represents a pair of sleepers, which are arranged parallel on the ground or on a suitable foundation, and are provided on their upper sides with tracks B. The inner sides of the tracks are beveled, as shown.

0 represents a series of skids, which are arranged on the tracks at suitable regular distanoes apart; have their central raised portions horizontal, as at D, and have their end portions inclined downwardin opposite direc tions, as at E. The said skids are provided on their upper sides with raised flanges, which communicate with and align with the tracks B. The said skids are not secured to the sleepers, but are merely placed on the upper sides of the track-rail thereof.

F represents adwelling-house or other building the sills of which are provided with a series of depending standards or brackets, G, in which are journaled flanged wheels or rollers H, and the said wheels or rollers normally rest upon the horizontal raised central portions of the skids, and thereby keep the said skids firmly in place on the tracks by reason of the superincumbent weight of the building.

The sleepers A are but slightly longer than Serial No. 269,569. (No model.)

the house and project beyond one end of the house in the direction in which the latter is to be moved in the event of a fire in the adjacent house. I represents a pair of track-rails of suit-able length, which are similar to the rails 13, but are stronger than the latter, so as to be able to bear the weight of the building, and the said track-rails I are adapted to be placed on beds or supports K, which are arranged therefor. The meeting ends of the track-rails I and of the sleepers are beveled, as shown in Fig. 1, so as to effect lap-joints, and in the ers are made transverse openings L, in which may be inserted keys M to lock the said meetingends ofthetrack-rails and sleepers together. Ordinarily the said track-rails I are not in position, but are stored in some convenient accessible place, where they may be protected from the weather.

To the inner side of each sleeper are secured a series of springs, M, which correspond in number with the skids and are arranged along the sides of the latter, and each skid is provided on its inner side with a projecting pin or arm, N, on which bears the free end of the adjacent spring. The said springs exert a constant downward pressure on the said skids.

The operation of my invention is as follows: In the event of a fire in an adjoining or adjacent house,which is likely to spread, the trackrails I are placed on the beds K and coupled to the sleepers, as before described, and the house is started in the direction of the said track-rails. As the rollers or wheels which support the house run down the inclined sides of the skids simultaneously, the house is constantly maintained in a horizontal position, so as not to subject the same to dangerous and destructive jars, which might dislocate the frame-work, crack the plaster, and ruin the chimneys, and at the same time the inclined sides of the skids impart sufficient momentum to the building to cause it to roll onto the tracks I and along the same. As soon as the rollers leave the skids, the springs which bear downward on the laterally-projecting pins N thereof throw the said skids inward and overturn them from the sleepers and out of alignment with the tracks B, and thereby remove them out of the way of the rollers.

said meeting ends of the track-rails and sleep- In order to start thehouse, in the event that the same may be too heavy to be readily pushed by a number of men, I provide a post or other suitable support, a, at a distance from the house and directly in line therewith, to which post may be attached a block and tackle or a suitable winch.

It will be understood, of course, that the house will be provided, on the side which is presented in the direction that the house is to move, with a chain, eyebolt, or other suitable keeper, to which the tackle for moving the house may be attached. 13y thus moving the house out of the way 01' a eonilagration,which might otherwise involve a whole block of buildings or a Wl10l0t0\V!1,tll0 burning buildings may be isolated, so as to prevent the fire from spreading.

A house which is on fire may be thus moved, also, as will be understood, and a suitable number of the track-rails I may be provided to be laid down one after another to enable the building to be moved.

Having thus described my invention, I elai1n- 1. The combination of the sleepers having the tracks I the skids having the inclined sides supported on the said sleepers and in line with the tracks, and the lmilding having the supporting wheels or rollers mounted on the skids, substantially as described,

2. The combination ol'the supporting-tracks 3, the skids mounted thereon and having the laterally-projecting arms N, the building having the supporting Wheels or rollers resting on the said skids, and the springs bearing upon the arms N of the skids and thereby adapted to throw the same from the track out of the way of ,the rear wheels or rollers when said wheels or rollers have descended the skids to the tracks, substantially as described.

The combination of the sleepers having the tracks I3, the track rails I, said track-rails and said sleepers having their meeting ends beveled or inclined and thereby adapted to effect lap-joints, said meeting ends being l'urther provided with the transverse openings L, the keys M,to engage the said openings and couple the track-rails I to the sleepers, the

skids arranged on the sleepers in line with track 13 and having the inclined sides, and the building having the supporting rollers or wheels resting on the skids, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto ai'iixed my signaturein presence of two Witnesses.

FRANK I DUFFEY.

\Vitnesses:

W. \V. Mrdfiwsx, It. G. SINGERS. 

